This invention relates to flooring members and in particular to flooring suitable for heavy load areas and areas subject to conditions which normally give rise to corrosion or rot in normal materials.
It is of course well known to construct floors, both the actual floor surface and the underlying support structure, from such materials as wood or steel. However, these materials are becoming increasingly more expensive and hard to obtain, particularly wood. Also these materials are not suitable for some flooring purposes because of their tendency to rot or corrode. The use of other materials is often not practical because of the inability of other mterials to withstand heavy loads to which flooring members are often subject and because of the high cost of alternative materials. Also many materials which might conceivably be used cannot stand up to the heavy wear and tear that flooring must withstand.
One particular industry for which suitable flooring has been an unsolved problem for many years is the livestock and poultry industry and the related livestock transportation industry. The flooring in pens, feed lots, and livestock barns and in rail cars and trucks where livestock or poultry is kept on a continuing basis is subject to very corrosive or rotting conditions due to the urine and droppings of the animals which may give off highly corrosive ammonia gases, the high level of moisture from various sources, the hay and feed which is usually present, and the accompanying bacteria. Flooring made of wood or steel quickly deteriorates and must be replaced at high cost. The additional problem of course, at least with flooring for livestock, is that the flooring must be capable of withstanding very heavy loads because of the great weight of such animals which often tend to cluster in groups in a particular portion of the pen.
It is therefore an object of the invention to overcome to a large extent the above-mentioned problems by providing flooring members which are made from a combination of glass fiber reinforcements and polyesters. Members made from this material, particularly when constructed with the preferred pultrusion process, have great structural strength and are capable of withstanding loads such as those present in cattle pens. It is a further object of the invention to provide members which do not absorb moisture and therefore will not rot or corrode or breed bacteria and they are not affected by ammonia gases.
It is a further object to provide flooring members whose strength to weight ratio is high compared to known flooring members and which can be made in attractive, permanent colours.
Another advantage of the present flooring members is that they are also very resistant to wear and therefore have a very long life so as to make it quite economic over the life of the floor.